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A Variety of Perspective

Dan cracked open his eyes and was greeted to consciousness by a splitting headache. Groggily, he tries to remember how he made it back home the night before. What time is it?

Finding his beat up phone with a cracked screen, he can barely see the 8:30 it is trying to communicate. Not again! If I’m late for work one more time I’ll be fired! He frantically jumps out of bed and rushes around the house to get ready. Tripping over the many obstacles on the floor of his dirty room, he throws on his work uniform and stumbles down the stairs from his third floor apartment. Why is everything always so hard? I never remember to set my alarm! Why are my bosses such hard-asses? Dan cuts across the unkept lawn of the apartment complex and tramples over the dandelions sprinkled throughout the dewy grass.

Dan starts the engine of his truck and races out of the neighborhood. The streets were still wet from the storm the night before, puddles gathered in several low spots alongside the sidewalks. He raced his car through them, cutting every corner and shaving each second he could to make it to work on time. Once on the highway Dan zipped his way through the traffic, jumping into each opening and tailgating whoever was blocking his path. By the time he reached his exit he had five lanes to cross to reach it. Cutting straight across all five in one swift turn Dan narrowly misses the guard rail of the exit lane. He made it to work and clocked in one minute before 9:00. His manager had been waiting and saw him do so, uttering an audible grunt of disapproval, but not of surprise.

I’ve got good luck today! Dan thinks as he starts to work and distracts himself from the monotony of his job by contemplating the ever-approaching happy hour he will race to after work.

The Traffic Reporter’s Perspective

Be careful out there today folks! The roads are still slick and we have a huge pile up on the Northbound 25. You’ll definitely be needing to take some alternative routes today, this won’t be cleaned up any time soon. I see 7-8-9 cars piled up and the carnage is blocking all 5 lanes! Whoever caused this one is a real piece of work is going to be dolling out the big bucks in future insurance premium– wait, can I say that? And we’re live from the 25 stay safe out there folks!

Diane’s Perspective

Today is a big day, the day I’ve been waiting for. Diane gives herself a pep talk in the mirror as she gets ready for the biggest sales pitch she has ever made. If she made the sale today, it would propel her company to the next level, the three previous years of hard work and dedication would pay off. She would finally be able to quit her day job and devote full-time effort into her business.

She was so anxious for her big day that she had barely got any sleep the night before. She rolled around most of the night and decided to get up and get ready at 5:00 since she couldn’t sleep anyway. She made a great breakfast, fresh fruit, eggs, toast. She drank orange juice and coffee. Lots of coffee. I’ve lived on caffeine for three years, one more sleepless night won’t stop my success today.

She paced the floor and rehearsed her sales pitch. Finally she couldn’t stand it any longer, she had to get out of the house. The meeting wasn’t until 10:00 but she figured she would leave early to beat the traffic and arrive with plenty of time to spare before the meeting. It was 8:45.

She got in her car, buckled her seat belt, adjusted the radio to her favorite station and cautiously proceeded on her drive to work. She had always been a slow and cautious driver. She merged onto the highway and her mind reeled-off on the possible questions she might be asked at the meeting. As she was driving she realized she was being tailgated by a big beat-up truck. It startled her but she kept her composure and tried to ignore the road-raging jerk at the wheel behind her. Soon enough he passed by and flew into the far left lane, empty beer cans blew out of the bed of his truck. I sure hope he doesn’t kill anyone.

Before Diane knew what happened, traffic came to a stand-still. That gray truck had cut off each lane of traffic and caused a pile up. The roads were still slippery from the rain and it was impossible to stop quickly. Diane crashed into the car in front of her, her airbag failed to deploy and the impact whipped her head into the steering wheel. What an unlucky day, and her consciousness faded to black.

Rose’s Perspective

What a beautiful morning, all of this fresh rain is making my garden grow nicely. I sure hope the storm didn’t destroy any of my plants though.

Rose, a retired widow, stepped outside to survey her garden and make sure the storm did not damage any of her flower beds. After reviewing the backyard and finding everything to be in order, Rose stepped back into the house for a cup of tea. Contemplating her plan for the day, she remembered she must go to the local library and read a story for the children later that morning.

Oh! I almost forgot, retirement has made me bad with dates and times. I’d better hurry, I’ll have to find some candy for the kids too.

The eighty-year-old Rose hobbled quickly into her front yard to finish her garden inspection so she could get ready to go to the library. She walked toward the very edge of her lawn to see if her lilies survived when she heard the sound of an engine roaring through the neighborhood. Why is that man speeding, this is a neighborhood! The big gray truck was approaching rapidly, Rose saw a huge puddle near where she was standing. To avoid getting wet she tried to quickly escape the splash area but fell instead, getting soaked by the truck-induced spray. She twisted her ankle and had to visit the doctor instead of the library that day.

Mikey’s Perspective

My favorite day! I can’t wait to get on my bike and ride to see Rose!

Mikey was excited, each week on summer vacation he got to meet with other kids at the library for story time with Rose. Although Mikey was a bit of a troublemaker and had a hard time focusing, he always loved the stories Rose read and looked forward to this day each week. He loved getting out of the house and riding his bike–especially through puddles.

It was just Mikey’s luck this week, the crazy storm the night before had left plenty of glorious puddles to crash through. Mikey peddled through at full-speed, even taking the long way to the library. When he arrived he was soaked from head to toe and smiling a grin that conveyed the pure joy and happiness he was feeling.

His smile however, soon faded when he heard from the librarian that poor Rose had had an accident and would not be in to read the story that day. Mikey’s favorite day of the week now turned gray, he also hoped that Rose was OK. He turned around and rode slowly home through the wet streets.

The Dandelion’s Perspective

Rain, rain, RAIN! Wow that was a lot of rain. Drink up buddies, what a feast! Thank God the rain stopped or we may have all drowned. Now, we will surely take over this lawn. Gather your strength boys for today we seed! Nothing can sto–

The dandelion was smashed by a big dirty boot and left to absorb a billowing black cloud of smoke from a gray truck that sped off into the neighborhood.